If you had one day in Anchorage...

[melmar02]

We're sailing on Radiance southbound next summer with a land tour at the beginning of the cruise. We still plan to fly in a day early, so we'll have one full day in Anchorage to explore. Are there any don't miss activities or restaurants? Our kids will be 10 and 14 when we sail, and we have already have quite a bit of wildlife focused sightseeing built into the land tour and the cruise excursions we are considering. 

[Baked Alaska]

Go to Humpy's for lunch (nice dive bar, plenty of tourists and locals with kids) https://www.humpysalaska.com/. Head over to the Anchorage Museum and go to this exhibit: https://www.anchoragemuseum.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/living-our-cultures-sharing-our-heritage-the-first-peoples-of-alaska/. If you have time after that, head over to Big Rays: https://www.bigrays.com/ or hit Big Rays before lunch. It's kinda like Bass Pro and the Wisconsin Dells merged into one. Fun shopping through there. Other GREAT shops in the area. Then, for dinner eat at Glacier Brewhouse: http://glacierbrewhouse.com/. Great local beers and killer food. A little bit more pricey than the lower 48, but killer Alaskan food! You didn't mention where you were staying, but we did all of that on foot walking to and from the Anchorage Marriott Downtown. My son was 14 at the time. HTH!

[melmar02]

5 hours ago, Baked Alaska said:

Go to Humpy's for lunch (nice dive bar, plenty of tourists and locals with kids) https://www.humpysalaska.com/. Head over to the Anchorage Museum and go to this exhibit: https://www.anchoragemuseum.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/living-our-cultures-sharing-our-heritage-the-first-peoples-of-alaska/. If you have time after that, head over to Big Rays: https://www.bigrays.com/ or hit Big Rays before lunch. It's kinda like Bass Pro and the Wisconsin Dells merged into one. Fun shopping through there. Other GREAT shops in the area. Then, for dinner eat at Glacier Brewhouse: http://glacierbrewhouse.com/. Great local beers and killer food. A little bit more pricey than the lower 48, but killer Alaskan food! You didn't mention where you were staying, but we did all of that on foot walking to and from the Anchorage Marriott Downtown. My son was 14 at the time. HTH!

Since the land tour has us in the downtown Marriott, we figured we would just add a day there. Hopefully we will be able to keep the same room. Thanks for the tips! 

[Jill]

We are doing this exact same itinerary late May 2022. Thanks Baked Alaska for confirming downtown Marriott. 
 

I have us booked at a Hilton Garden that first night (using points) but I’m thinking of getting a room at the Marriott. 

[MarvinS]

On 7/29/2021 at 11:51 AM, Jill said:

We are doing this exact same itinerary late May 2022. Thanks Baked Alaska for confirming downtown Marriott. 
 

I have us booked at a Hilton Garden that first night (using points) but I’m thinking of getting a room at the Marriott. 

I know Anchorage well.  The Hilton Garden Inn is in an area considered "midtown", and is about 3 miles away from the Anchorage "Downtown" area near Humpy's and the Glacier Brewhouse (both great places) and the Museum (also very good), along with a lot of other great shopping/dining options.

Lodging is VERY expensive during the summer, so using hotel points is not a bad idea and can save a lot of $$$.  You can always use a taxi/Uber/Lyft from the Hilton Garden Inn after checkout to the Marriott and possibly drop off your luggage for a later check-in, and then already be downtown and walk around...  If you have a rental car (which can also be very expensive), there is a large public parking garage about 1 block away from the Marriott across the street.  Just a suggestion or two!

[Donna G]

will you have a car for a day or so? if not, you can go to the visitors center and see what kind of tours you may like. There is a wildlife park that we went to about 30-40 min away. I know that there is a tour there.  Some nice museums right there in town that you can just walk to.